Wednesday's letters: Very dedicated

Published: Wednesday, August 6, 2014 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, August 5, 2014 at 4:26 p.m.

Very dedicated

To the editor: I have been a volunteer for almost seven years at the local VA Hospital in Oteen and, while it is easy to point out its shortcomings, I can tell you that most of the VA employees are dedicated to giving the best service possible to every veteran who comes in the door.

If you Google the word “bureaucracy,” a picture of the VA may pop up, but the local folks work hard to provide excellent care despite crazy rules and regulations that have often been put into place by people elsewhere who have no experience on the firing line. The service is generally good to excellent.

If you are truly concerned about veterans’ treatment, volunteer yourself. There are a million things you can do to help.

Ed Dowd

Etowah

So unproductive

To the editor: As I read in the Congressional Record, here is what our representative in the U.S. House, Mark Meadows, accomplished on July 30, his last full day of “work” before summer recess.

He voted to block votes on:

• Promoting equal work for equal pay for women.

• Raising the minimum wage.

• Passing President Barack Obama’s jobs bill to keep jobs in the U.S.

• Lowering student loan rates.

Mr. Meadows did not block votes to allow:

• Corporations to dump more pesticides in our nation’s waters.

• Suing President Obama.

As Rep. Meadows spends his very long — paid for by we the people — vacation with us, maybe we could all ask him why he spends his days in this unproductive way. Your voice, your vote.

Sharon Mills

Hendersonville

Lack of character

To the editor: The martyred Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of a time when people would “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” How ironic and sad that just as we thought a majority had attained his dream and elected a man of color as president, that individual turned out to be a narcissist devoid of character.

Domestically, Obama’s disregard for constitutional separation of powers and selective law enforcement is thought by many to be an impeachable offense; however, he is protected from responsibility for his behavior by the press, a lawless attorney general, the senile and possibly mad Harry Reid, and a buffoon as successor.

His only foreign policy achievement has been to make the Middle East safe for the Muslim Brotherhood by removing dictators Moammar Gadhafi in Libya and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt.

Now he is fulfilling his promise of “flexibility” to Vladimir Putin by ignoring Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, which is frighteningly reminiscent of Adolf Hitler’s aggression in Czechoslovakia in 1939, the prelude to World War II.

His feckless behavior continues as he flies about the country on Air Force One, fundraising from wealthy clients and giving speeches fit in between golfing vacations.

<h3>Very dedicated</h3>
<p>To the editor: I have been a volunteer for almost seven years at the local VA Hospital in Oteen and, while it is easy to point out its shortcomings, I can tell you that most of the VA employees are dedicated to giving the best service possible to every veteran who comes in the door.</p><p>If you Google the word “bureaucracy,” a picture of the VA may pop up, but the local folks work hard to provide excellent care despite crazy rules and regulations that have often been put into place by people elsewhere who have no experience on the firing line. The service is generally good to excellent.</p><p>If you are truly concerned about veterans' treatment, volunteer yourself. There are a million things you can do to help.</p><p><em>Ed Dowd</em></p><p><em>Etowah</em></p><h3>So unproductive</h3>
<p>To the editor: As I read in the Congressional Record, here is what our representative in the U.S. House, Mark Meadows, accomplished on July 30, his last full day of “work” before summer recess.</p><p>He voted to block votes on:</p><p>&bull; Promoting equal work for equal pay for women.</p><p>&bull; Raising the minimum wage.</p><p>&bull; Passing President Barack Obama's jobs bill to keep jobs in the U.S.</p><p>&bull; Lowering student loan rates.</p><p>Mr. Meadows did not block votes to allow:</p><p>&bull; Corporations to dump more pesticides in our nation's waters.</p><p>&bull; Suing President Obama.</p><p>As Rep. Meadows spends his very long — paid for by we the people — vacation with us, maybe we could all ask him why he spends his days in this unproductive way. Your voice, your vote.</p><p><em>Sharon Mills</em></p><p><em>Hendersonville</em></p><h3>Lack of character</h3>
<p>To the editor: The martyred Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of a time when people would “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” How ironic and sad that just as we thought a majority had attained his dream and elected a man of color as president, that individual turned out to be a narcissist devoid of character.</p><p>Domestically, Obama's disregard for constitutional separation of powers and selective law enforcement is thought by many to be an impeachable offense; however, he is protected from responsibility for his behavior by the press, a lawless attorney general, the senile and possibly mad Harry Reid, and a buffoon as successor.</p><p>His only foreign policy achievement has been to make the Middle East safe for the Muslim Brotherhood by removing dictators Moammar Gadhafi in Libya and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt.</p><p>Now he is fulfilling his promise of “flexibility” to Vladimir Putin by ignoring Russia's aggression in Ukraine, which is frighteningly reminiscent of Adolf Hitler's aggression in Czechoslovakia in 1939, the prelude to World War II.</p><p>His feckless behavior continues as he flies about the country on Air Force One, fundraising from wealthy clients and giving speeches fit in between golfing vacations.</p><p><em>Jerome (Jack) Lorenz</em></p><p><em>Mills River</em></p>